Owwww / The City

V's mother (Z) and her mother's partner (G) arrived in London from Houston on Tuesday morning. It was our job to find them a place to eat, and show them around on their first day.

Unfortunately for me, as the day wore on, I limped more and more and the pain worsened (some sort of ankle injury from the St Alban's walking). It was so bad I figured it could only get better.

We took them from their hotel in Bayswater to lunch at Selfridges, then on to Westminster, the bridge, Big Ben struck 3, a wander around the Abbey, then up Horseguards to Downing Street.
Then I took everyone to Richmond for the best fish and chips in town - where G bought a brace for my ankle, which helped a lot, and gave me two Advil.

Then we each went home.

**********

Today V and I went into the City, a little bit late. We'd wanted to go to the Geffrye Museum (the history of interior design), but by the time we got there it would be closed, so instead we wandered into Broadgate Circle. There was a Castrol GT promotion, with a few Royal Bank of Scotland racing cars parked in the centre, loads of screens and people in green outfits handing out opportunities to take a racing lesson with a famous driver. We grabbed deux pains au chocolat, I had a spicy chai, and we sat and watched the people leaving their offices for the day. "Rush hour" takes on a whole new meaning when it involves actual bodies rushing at you - when you're going completely against the flow.

We took a walking tour of the City - Royal Exchange, Bank of England, Natwest Tower, Swiss Re (gherkin), Number One Poultry, Lloyds of London, and who knows what else? We walked far enough that we entered into the edge of Islington and found a game of lawn bowling on a green in Finsbury Circus (?)
We sat and watched for a quarter of an hour, then I sent V home and made my way to Highgate.

You see, on the hill
Is a quaint turreted house
'Tis quite a Delightful mystery...